Category: News

Recent polls have shown that U.S. President Joe Biden's standing with the American public is entwined with the state of the pandemic in the country. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has more. ...

Attention asteroid aficionados: NASA is set to launch a series of spacecraft to visit and even bash some of the solar system's most enticing space rocks.  The robotic trailblazer named Lucy is up first, blasting off this weekend on a 12-year cruise to swarms of asteroids out near Jupiter — unexplored time capsules from the dawn of the solar system. And yes, there will be diamonds in the sky with Lucy, on one of its science instruments, as well as lyrics from other Beatles' songs.  NASA is targeting the predawn hours of Saturday for liftoff.  Barely a month later, an impactor spacecraft named Dart will give chase to a double-asteroid closer to home. The mission will end with Dart ramming the main asteroid's moonlet to change its orbit, a test…

The World Health Organization's endorsement of the world’s first malaria vaccine marks a major advance against the mosquito-borne illness, which kills some 265,000 children in Africa annually. Bitrus Yusuf pours syrup into a measuring cup to give to his three-year-old daughter and grandson who are sick with malaria.  He said the mosquito-borne parasite that causes the illness is all too common at this Abuja camp for internally displaced people where they live.  "We went to bed, all was well, everybody was well," Yusuf said. "But toward midnight I heard him shivering. As I touched his body (it was) very hot, so I woke him up."  The World Health Organization said some 94% of malaria cases and deaths worldwide occur in Africa, and that Nigeria accounts for a quarter of the…

The world’s most famous “starship captain” takes the trek of a lifetime. Plus, new software makes possible virtual trips through the universe, and a mining company in Greenland offers a potentially planet-saving alternative to aluminum. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. ...

Residents in the storm-wracked region consider how long their resilience will last Video: Arturo Martinez and Steve Baragona ...

Victoria state has Thursday reported 2,297 new local COVID-19 cases -- the highest number of daily infections recorded by any Australian state or territory since the pandemic began. But as infections surge, authorities hope to lift a lockdown in Melbourne within days when vaccination rates reach 70%. A 107-day lockdown in Sydney, the New South Wales state capital, was lifted on Monday. Neighboring Victoria state has record COVID-19 case numbers, however, but epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said she believes vaccinations will soon bring the outbreak under control. “While we might see cases go up as we have those freedoms start to come into effect this week in New South Wales, Victoria, probably, in a week or two, we are now seeing that we can do that safely,” she said. “That’s everything.”…

COVID-19 cases among U.S. service members have been on a steady decline over the last month, as more service members have become vaccinated ahead of the Defense Department’s fast-approaching vaccination compliance deadlines. The number of cases reached 4,902 the week of Sept. 8 but dropped to 863 cases last week, the military’s lowest number of cases since early June, according to DOD data obtained by VOA. “The decline, it’s exactly how we wanted it to go,” Defense Department spokesperson Major Charlie Dietz told VOA on Wednesday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a memo Aug. 25 requiring service members to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face penalties, leaving deadlines for vaccination compliance to the service branches. DOD’s vaccination mandate came during a summer surge of the coronavirus across the country that…

The chief of the World Health Organization on Wednesday honored the late Henrietta Lacks, an American woman whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge during the 1950s and ended up providing the foundation for vast scientific breakthroughs, including research about the coronavirus.    The recognition from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came more than a decade after the publication of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” Rebecca Skloot's book about the discrimination in health care faced by Black Americans, the life-saving innovations made possible by Lacks' cells and her family's legal fight over their unauthorized use.    “What happened to Henrietta was wrong,” Tedros said during a special ceremony at WHO Geneva headquarters before handing the Director-General’s Award for Henrietta Lacks to her 87-year-old son Lawrence Lacks as several of her…

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 economies Wednesday pledged to keep economic stimulus policies in place to ensure a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid ongoing risks, "We will continue to sustain the recovery, avoiding any premature withdrawal of support measures," according to the official communique released after the G-20 meeting. While the global recovery has been solid, the statement notes that it has been "highly divergent" among countries. "We reaffirm our resolve to use all available tools for as long as required to address the adverse consequences of COVID-19, in particular on those most impacted," the statement continued. At the same time, officials are closely watching rising prices, the statement said. The meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors is being held at a time when suppliers…

People who got Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as a first shot had a stronger immune response when they boosted it with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, a study by the National Institutes of Health showed Wednesday. The study, which is preliminary and hasn't been peer reviewed, is the latest challenge to J&J's efforts to use its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster in the United States. The study, which included more than 450 adults who received initial shots from Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson, showed that "mixing and matching" booster shots of different types is safe in adults. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are based on messenger RNA, while J&J's uses viral vector technology. The finding comes as an advisory group to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prepares…

A report marking the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction finds many deaths and economic losses from natural disasters could be averted by investing in preventive risk reduction measures.  Climate-related disasters have nearly doubled over the past 20 years, with developing countries bearing the brunt of the damage. Though extreme weather events and other emergencies are growing, the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction says little money is being allocated to help countries prevent or reduce risks.  The report finds $133 billion of official development assistance was allocated for disaster-related aid between 2010 and 2019, but only $5.5 billion was invested in measures to reduce the risks and lessen the impact of disasters.  For every $100 spent on disaster-related development aid, only 50 cents goes toward protecting development from the…

Two Israeli scientists have grown a group of date palms from 2,000 year-old seeds. This year, one of the trees produced a harvest of hundreds of dates that until now had been considered extinct. Linda Gradstein reports from Kibbutz Ketura in Israel’s Arava desert. Camera: Ricki Rosen. ...

Hurricane Pamela came ashore on Mexico's Pacific coast Wednesday, bringing with it strong winds and rain.  The Category 1 storm had just regained hurricane strength before hitting 65 kilometers north of Mazatlan, a port city and tourist destination.  The storm has the potential for strong storm surge and possible flooding.  At landfall, the storm had winds of 120 kph, but that was anticipated to dissipate quickly as the storm moves inland. The remnants of the storm, which is expected to bring heavy rains across much of Mexico, could hit Texas on Thursday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.  Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press.  ...

Over 70 zoos in the United States are gearing up to inoculate some of their animals against COVID-19 amid a rise in cases. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports on the vaccine’s effectiveness for the animals and which species will get the jab first. ...

A tropical storm set off landslides and flash floods as it barreled over the tip of the northern Philippines, leaving at least 11 people dead and seven missing, officials said Tuesday.  More than 6,500 villagers were evacuated from homes in several towns and cities swamped by floods and battered by pounding rains and wind that toppled trees and knocked down power.   Tropical Storm Kompasu was last tracked over the South China Sea heading toward China's Hainan island and later Vietnam with sustained winds of 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour and gusts of 125 kph (78 mph), government forecasters said.   Six villagers died in landslides that hit their houses in the northern mountain province of Benguet and three others in the region remain missing. A security guard was swept away by strong waves while…

As William Shatner prepares to be beamed up Wednesday for his first real-life spaceflight, and to become at 90 the oldest person ever to enter the final frontier, he's bringing out the awe in the small handful of people around a rural Texas spaceport.  Shatner's 10-minute trip with three others on the second passenger flight from Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will be more like the first space launches of the 1960s than the fictional galactic voyages of the Starship Enterprise on "Star Trek," but the very idea of him leaving the atmosphere is powerful.  "It's time Captain Kirk actually physically got up into space. I'm kind of excited about that," said Becky Brewster, mayor of Van Horn, a rural town of about 1,800 people on what was once desolate desert…

Heath officials on Tuesday authorized the first electronic cigarettes in the United States, saying the R.J. Reynolds vaping products can benefit adult smokers. The Food and Drug Administration said data submitted by the company showed its Vuse e-cigarettes helped smokers either quit or significantly reduce cigarette use, the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Tuesday's first-of-a-kind decision is part of a sweeping effort by the FDA to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of delays. In September, the agency said it had rejected applications for more than a million e-cigarettes and related products, mainly because of their potential appeal to underage teens. But regulators delayed deciding on most of the major vaping companies, including market leader Juul. The FDA's decision applies only to Vuse's…

People over the age of the 60 without heart disease should not take low-dose aspirin daily to prevent a first stroke or heart attack, according to an independent panel of U.S. health experts. In a draft of new guidelines released online Tuesday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said bleeding risks caused by aspirin outweigh any potential benefits for adults in their 60s who have not had a heart attack or stroke. Low-dose aspirin has long been recommended for people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or other maladies that increase their risks of a heart attack or stroke.  “Aspirin use can cause serious harms, and risk increases with age,’’ said task force member and Tufts Medical Center primary care expert Dr. John Wong. Wong said adults of all…

A group of World Health Organization experts is calling for 70 percent of the global population to be fully vaccinated by mid-2022 to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from progressing in more dangerous ways. The 15-member Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, known as SAGE, which makes recommendations to WHO on vaccine policy and strategy, just concluded a four-day meeting. The experts say more than enough vaccines are available to cover everyone by the middle of next year if the doses are not hoarded by wealthy countries and are shared equitably with poorer nations which as of yet do not have them.  WHO director of immunization vaccines and biologicals Katherine O’Brien says it is urgent to get the doses to places that are falling behind in the race to vaccinate. “Unless we do that, we will continue to…

Severe storms brought suspected tornadoes and baseball-sized hail to parts of Oklahoma, but there were no reports Monday of deaths or injuries.  The severe weather system that hit Oklahoma late Sunday also brought heavy rain, lightning and wind to parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas, and more stormy weather is predicted later this week in parts of the central United States.  Severe weather is not unusual in the Southern Plains in October, said Chuck Hodges, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa. But Sunday's storm "was kind of more of a spring setup," he said.  "We had unusually high moisture and a very, very strong weather system that came through," he said.  Tornado warnings and reports of damage popped up across Oklahoma beginning Sunday afternoon, and survey…

The World Health Organization said Monday that constructive action against climate change could save "millions" of lives.  Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, scheduled for October 31, the WHO is urging governments to reach concrete agreements to combat climate change.  "Countries must set ambitious national climate commitments if they are to sustain a healthy and green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," the WHO said Monday in a statement announcing a new report on climate change and health.  Amid the pandemic, climate crises including droughts, heat waves, flooding and hurricanes have ravaged all parts of the world. "Changes in weather and climate are threatening food security and driving up food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, while climate impacts are also negatively affecting mental health,"…

A key U.N. summit tasked with protecting biodiversity officially opens in China and online Monday, as countries meet to tackle pollution and prevent mass extinction weeks before the COP26 climate conference. Beijing, the world’s biggest polluter, has sought to position itself in recent years as a world leader on climate issues after Washington’s withdrawal from international commitments under the Trump administration. The online session that begins Monday afternoon — setting the stage for a face-to-face meeting in April — will see parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) working out the details of a new document that will set targets for protecting ecosystems by 2030. Up for debate are the “30 by 30” plan to give 30% of lands and oceans protected status — a measure supported by a…